Tag: feelings

December 2 AA Daily Reflection. If you follow the steps you to can have a spiritual awakening!

2 December: SERENITY

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, . . .

— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 106

As I continued to go to meetings and work the Steps, something began to happento me. I felt confused because I wasn’t sure what it was that I was feeling, and then I realized I was experiencing serenity. It was a good feeling, but where had it come from? Then I realized it had come “. . . as the result of these steps.” The program may not always be easy to practice, but I had to acknowledge that my serenity had come to me after working the Steps. As I work the Steps in everything I do, practicing these principles in all my affairs, now I find that I am awake to God, to others, and to myself. The spiritual awakening I have enjoyed as the result of working the Steps is the awareness that I am no longer alone.

It’s in all of the us. We have the capability to do anything we put our minds too. It all depends on how bad do you want it? I had to adopt this mindset during my recovery. In the beginning of recovery the shame, guilt, resentments all flooded in. I used those emotions to fuel the fire to push through the pain, and because of that I haven’t had a drink in 425 days. For a hopeless drunk like me, thats profound. If i can do it, you can do it! We can do it! Be humble, be honest, and be the hardest working person in the room! Have a great week!

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows!” Even after being sober for over a year I have days where my motivation/drive is sub par. One of things I do when I feel down or unmotivated is watch motivational vidoes on YouTube. It gives me inspiration, and helps me get into a positive head space.

This is what works for me, but it may not work for you. Find your niche and find the new and improved you! There is strength in numbers, we can recover! Below is my goto motivational video. Check it out and start your day off with some positivity and inspiration!

Todays Daily Reflection hit home for me. It talks about blame. When I was in active addiction I would blame everyone and anyone, but never myself. I wasn’t the problem. Everyone else was the problem!

Recovery has taught me that I am the sole person to blame. Everything I do or say ends with me, no-one else. It took me along time to realize that I had to take ownership of my life. I know nothing changes overnight, but if you can string a few nights in a row change is possible and rewarding!

Going to meetings helps you understand your not alone, find people at meetings you can relate to.

Time- You need to give your mind, body, and spirit time to readjust to your new life.

It helped me deal with my social anxiety and other character defects.

Talk to newcomers. Even if you’ve only been sober for 1 week you can help inspire the person with 1 day or less, pay it forward.

Some meetings are better then others. The 90 and 90 helps you find what is going to work for you. Keep an openmind, listen, and also share. Old timers will say “take the cotton ball out of your ears, and put it in your mouth.” I disagree a newcomber should listen, but also share there experience, strength, and hope.

…let us not suppose even for an instant that we are not under constraint… Our former tyrant, King Alcohol, always stands ready again to clutch us to him. Therefore, freedom from alcohol is the great “must” that has to be achieved, else we go mad or die.

As Bill Sees It, p. 134

When drinking, I lived in spiritual, emotional, and sometimes, physical confinement. I had constructed my prison with bars of self-will and self-indulgence, from which I could not escape. Occasionally dry spells that seemed to promise freedom would turn out to be little more than hopes of a reprieve. True escape required willingness to follow whatever right actions were needed to turn the lock. With that willingness and action, both the lock and the bars themselves opened for me. Continued willingness and action keep me free– in a kind of extended daily probation-that need never end.

I confined myself physically and mentally when I would drink. I’d isolate and drink alone in the dark. Every waking hour my mind would think of alcohol. Everything in my life revolved around drinking. I was delusional about my disease. Thankfully, I had a divine intervention that pushed started my recovery. Ultimately, before my intervention I wasn’t willing to face the facts, denial was my friend. Now I know my denial and unwillingness was part of the problem that kept sucking me back into alcoholism.

I use the WHO acronym as foundation for my recovery. I have to be Willing to make positive changes in my life. I have to be willing to accept reality. I also must be honest with myself and others. One lie can snowball into a mountain! I find being brutally honest in all my fairs to be a stress reliever. I must also be Open-minded. Everybody’s road to recovery is different. What works for me may not work for you. Keeping an open mind helped me take in other people’s honest advice and opinions. I then would do research and through trial and error I was able to find my recovery sweet spot.

If you are struggling and do not know where to start, start with WHO. Everyday make it a point to become more Willing, Honest, and Open-minded. There are a plethora of roads to the top start carving your journey today!